Doctor Bristle's Analysis of European Exploration of Arkansas
by Lean Mean Green Machine
Summary: Doctor Bristle is coming up with a research presentation for his colleagues in Equestria, and he decides to use his time machine to travel back in time while arriving in the human world. He finds a topic that he can use, and then goes to the Age of Exploration. Along the way, Bristle studies about humans, particularly Europeans and Native Americans, in what is known as Arkansas.


Doctor Bristle's Analysis of European Exploration of Arkansas

by Jacob Green

The time of European exploration of the Americas marks an important event in history. My name is Doctor Bristle, and I am a red stallion who was from the mythical land of talking horses. I traveled back in time via a time machine to a land full of forests, mountains, valleys, and river systems (which was later named Arkansas), which was my first chosen location for my historical research. I am aware that I am not supposed to change anything in the past, knowing that I am a history buff for studying about every aspect of history, including Arkansas history. My research would mainly focus on the Spanish colonization and the French colonization of this natural land, their development, and how they affect it and the natives. As I wrote in my journal with a pen in my mouth, I closely analyzed the interactions between the three groups of humans and the history behind them.

On the spring of 1541, I set my hooves on northeastern Arkansas and sat on a hill near the Mississippi River, watching all of Arkansas' American Indians conducting their usual activities, which included "nut gathering and gardening" (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 27). It was such a peaceful sight watching rivers flowing, clouds moving, birds flying, and rabbits hopping. Two hours later, I noticed a group of humans known as the Spanish traveling to an area near the river where a tribe named the Casquis were located (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 40-41). These migrating humans were led by Hernando de Soto, the Spanish conqueror (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 40-41). His forces marched through the forest like an army of ants (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 40-41).

By the time they contacted the tribe, Soto and his men marched northeast to conquer the enemy of the Casquis, the Pacaha (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 40-41). I was uneasy in terms of feeling as the Spanish brought in diseases that the American Indians had no natural immunity to, which included smallpox (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 47). The Spanish were seeking money, power, and territory, which were the same reasons for why South American civilizations, such as the Aztecs, the Mayans, and the Incas, were eradicated (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 40-42). The cries of pain and suffering from the natives made me weep with tears. My heart broke as the Spanish were acting like monsters just because they encountered people who are not like them and decided to kill them (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 39). I wiped my face with my hooves to get rid of tears, knowing how sad it was to witness indigenous peoples getting slaughtered by European soldiers.

I used my time machine to fast forward to the summer of 1686, and I then saw something different. Another group of humans called the French were in what is known as Arkansas. They set up the first settlement in the Mississippi River Valley known as the Arkansas Post, which was where I trotted to (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 67-68). It was established by Henri de Tonty because the French settlers needed a post that enabled them to trade fur with the Quapaw tribe (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 74-75). Furs that I was seeing included fur from beavers. These types of fur mainly funded the economy of the Arkansas Post, as far as I was aware of (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 74-75).

For two months, with diligent eyes, I watched the French closely as well as the Quapaw Indians. Trade relations seemed to be stable for the time being (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 56). Items like fur were exchanged for goods like forks and pots (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 56). It was strange for the Quapaw to receive goods that they did not make themselves. It did not surprise me that they were man-made, at least in the sense that Europeans tended to be more technologically advanced than the natives (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 39). When looking at Europeans, I saw horses, armor, guns, and ships, which were a few things that the American Indians did not have, which would put the latter at a disadvantage in terms of warfare (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 39).

It was fall in the year 1720, and I am amazed at how much things changed since Europeans entered the New World. Looking back at the events that I witnessed and the evolution of American Indian society in North America, including the areas of modern-day Arkansas, I realized that interactions between Europeans and Native Americans would lead to colonization. The colonies in Arkansas, including the French and the Spanish colonies, transformed into commandants, governments ruled by one "military officer, usually a lieutenant or a captain" (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 76-77). He was tasked with defending key strategic areas of the colony from enemy invasion, governing colonial territory, and overseeing trade between the colonists and the natives (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 70-77). Just as the British established an alliance with the Chickasaw tribe, the French and the Spanish formed an alliance with the Quapaw tribe (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 68-69).

As nearly six decades went by, I began to record notes, summarizing what I observed and figuring out how the colonies evolved and whether colonization harms the natives. Besides the cons that I can list in a separate list from this entry, I think that the Spanish/French colonization of Arkansas has its benefits. One of such benefits was that the sales made on fur trade would send raw material from colonies to their mother countries (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 70-76). It served as an extra source of income for Spain and France to fund their economies (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 70-76). Right before I moved downhill toward the Mississippi River, I felt a beaver fur right next to me, and then I quickly trotted before trappers noticed me. I hid in the bushes to hide from them.

I witnessed another benefit of colonization in Arkansas, which was the following: an introduction of the natives to a new civilization. That is something that I tend to think of when humans explore different cultures. Since the late seventeenth century, the Spanish, the French, and the natives lived together in peace and harmony (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 87). The two colonies governed their lands with their laws and customs from their mother countries (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 76-91). They negotiated with different tribes (e.g., the Osage and the Quapaw) to ensure peace between them (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 90-91). Priests and missionaries attempted to Christianize the natives or converting them to Christianity, but they had little-to-no success in doing so (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 78-80). The American Indians still retained their way of life and their belief systems, which relieved me of excess pressure from thinking about the past incidents of genocide that the Spanish committed when they first entered Arkansas under Hernando de Soto (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 39-47).

The most amazing thing I found within these colonies is the diversity contained in it since the late 1600s. The colonies had whites and Indians getting along together (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 87). Nothing was done to force assimilation of the natives into the European way of life, which included the legal and religious aspects of it (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 77-79). The French and the Spanish gave gifts to American Indians, and the latter also gave them a gift since it helps maintain their alliances (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 91). I usually thought that there were disagreements between Christian priests and the Quapaws, and they were debating on concepts like the identity of God and creation stories, but religious wars were not conducted on the part of Christians against the natives (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 77-78). It pleased me to see the two groups of humans were to place less importance on their differences and participate in social events (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 80). Anything consumable they had for them would do wonders for me, including "great amounts of meat, corn, and liquor" (Whayne, DeBlack, Sabo, and Arnold, _Arkansas: A Narrative History_ , p. 80).

So far, European exploration of Arkansas is amazing to witness in history. Since the Spanish and the French settled in the area now known as Arkansas, posts have been set up for military, diplomatic, and economic purposes. Colonization may have its negatives, but the positives involved in dealing with a different culture certainly outweighed them. I am satisfied with the research I conducted as there is so much that is been taken for granted by the state I am studying. After finalizing my journal entries, I returned to my time machine and set coordinates to return to the present. My colleagues would be amazed as they were eager to listen to my lecture about the colonial times in Arkansas.

Bibliography

Whayne, Jeannie M., Thomas A. DeBlack, George Sabo, and Morris S. Arnold. _Arkansas: A Narrative History_. 2nd ed. Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas, 2013.

Copyright

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